A first aspect of the present invention relates to a container with a closable opening, comprising a container body which is formed by a wall, which container furthermore comprises an assembly for providing a closable communication with the interior of the container body, which assembly comprises a female element which is secured in the wall of the container body, as well as a male element and a plug.
The female element has a body which is secured in the wall of the container body, with an axial bore which extends through the body, from an insertion opening for the male element on the outside to a seat, which extends around the bore, for the plug in the interior of the container body, which plug serves to close off the bore.
The male element has a tubular part which fits into the axial bore, and the male element is provided with a passage which extends through the tubular part and with a head which is able to interact with the plug in order to press the latter off its seat.
The male element furthermore has closure means for closing off the passage.
The first aspect of the invention also relates to an assembly for providing a closable communication with the interior of a container of this nature.
A container of the type mentioned above is known, for example, from NL 1006636. In this known container, the container body is designed as a flexible plastic bag which may be filled with one filling medium or another, for example a liquid or powder substance. However, the first aspect of the invention is not limited to containers with a flexible container body. By way of example, the container body may have a stable wall, for example a (plastic) bottle, which is filled, for example, with a carbonated beverage.
In the case of the container shown in FIGS. 8a-d of NL 1006636, the head of the male element is coupled to the plug. After the blocking ring has been removed, the male element can be pressed towards the body of the female element, so that the plug is pressed out of its seat. The male element is provided with a so-called flip-flop cap, by means of which the passage in the male element can be closed off. The container therefore has, as it were, two components for closing off the interior of the container from the outside world, i.e. the plug in the interior of the container and the closure means which are arranged on the male element on the outside of the container. In the design shown, the closure means not only fulfil the function of closing off the passage in the male element, but also have a metering function when the container is used.
A second aspect of the invention relates to a method for producing a connecting assembly for providing a fluid communication.
A third aspect of the present invention relates to the creation of containers which are filled with a filling medium and have a flexible wall, in particular containers with a container body which is formed by a (plastic) bag.
According to a first object, the present invention aims to propose measures which make it possible to provide containers with a wide variety of assemblies which have a closure and/or metering function.
According to a second object, the invention aims to enable connecting assemblies providing a fluid communication to be produced efficiently.
According to a third object, the invention aims to enable containers which are to be filled with a filling medium and have a flexible wall, in particular containers with a container body which is formed by a (plastic) bag, to be filled efficiently.
According to a fourth object, the invention aims to reduce or eliminate the risk of (bacterial) contamination during or after filling of the containers. In flexible containers, the filling process is of essential import, on the one hand with regard to the economic aspects, such as the capacity with which containers can be filled and the cost price of the containers, and on the other hand with regard to the quality aspects, such as the shelf life of the filled medium and the appearance of the filled container. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for filling a container of this nature under aseptic conditions.
The first object is achieved by the present invention by the creation of a container which is characterized in that the body and the male element are provided with interacting coupling means which provide a resistance to the male element being pulled outwards out of the bore. In other words, this first aspect of the invention proposes to provide a direct coupling between the male element which fits into the bore and the body of the female element.
This measure provides the option of designing the head of the male element and the plug in such a manner that they no longer couple together, but that the plug can still be pressed out of its seat by the male element. It is then no longer possible for the plug to be pulled back into its seat by the male element, but that is not always necessary, since the closure means of the male element are now available.
Incidentally, the inventive idea still allows the plug to be coupled to the male element, as will be clear from the exemplary embodiments which are to be explained below.
The closure means may be designed in such a manner that they close off the container on only one occasion, so that once the container has been opened it can no longer be closed again using the said closure means. However, the plug can in some events be used to close the container again. Alternatively, the closure means may also be designed to open and close the container repeatedly, for example as a screw cap, twist cap (which opens/closes when rotated through a limited angle), flip-flop cap, push-pull cap, etc., which closure means are already known per se, for example for bottles. In this design, it can be stated that the closure means also have a metering function when the container is used. In yet another embodiment, the closure means may, for example, be designed as a (hand) pump, which pump may be designed as a disposable pump. The closure means could also be designed as a tap. The present invention also provides for the possibility of supplying a single male element in combination with a plurality of filled container bodies; this option is advantageous, for example, for the pump design.
The head of the male element and the plug may be designed in various ways in order thus to obtain various methods of interaction between the said components. In a first variant, the male element can only press the plug out of its seat, and the male element can no longer return the plug into its seat. In this case, there may be provision for the plug to be coupled to the male element in such a manner that the plug remains attached to the head of the male element in the open position. In a second variant, the plug is coupled to the male element in such a manner that the plug can be moved into its seat by moving the male element. This coupling may be permanent, so that once coupling has been brought about it can no longer be disconnected, but the coupling may also be releasable. In this case, the plug is uncoupled from the head of the male element after the plug has been moved out of the open position into its seat. Particularly in the case of the permanent coupling, there may be provision for the container to be placed in an appliance with a mechanism which acts on the male element in order in each case to move the plug out of its seat or move it into its seat.
The coupling means preferably form a stop face on the body of the female element and a stop face on the male element, which stop faces engage behind one another in the coupled state. This is possible with a bayonet coupling or the like, but also with a screw thread coupling or with a resilient gripper edge or resilient lips.
In a preferred embodiment, the coupling means define a plurality of axial positions of the male element with respect to the body of the female element, which positions comprise a first position, in which the plug is located in its seat and the interior of the container is closed off by the plug, and a second position, in which the plug is held away from its seat by the male element and the interior of the container is in communication with the passage in the male element. This measure makes it possible for the male element not yet to be acting on or coupled to the plug, for example in the design in which such coupling is not possible, but for it to be connected to the body via the coupling means, so that it cannot be moved out of the bore unintentionally.
In an advantageous embodiment, there is provision for the coupling means, in the first position, to hold the male element with only a slight resistance and, in the second position, to hold the male element with a considerably greater resistance than in the first position. For example, there is provision for it no longer to be possible, in the second position, to pull the male element out of the bore by hand, while in the first position the male element can be removed with little effort.
Further advantageous embodiments of the container according to the first aspect of the invention are described in the following description.
According to the second aspect of the invention the object is achieved by a method for producing a connecting assembly for providing a fluid communication. The method comprises the injection-moulding of the male element in a mould, which mould has a first mould part, with a mould cavity, which shapes a part of the male element, and with a receiving space for a second mould part which can be placed in the first mould part and shapes that part of the male element which is provided with coupling means.
The third and fourth aspects of the invention relate to methods for providing a flexible container which is filled with a filling medium.